The Washington Post reported the results for the 2012 presidential election as 50.6 percent for President Obama and 47.8 percent for Governor Romney. Many would consider this to be a free and open election between two candidates. On March 16, CNN conducted a similar poll — not between two candidates — but as to whether the Ukrainian region of Crimea would join the Russian Federation or stay with Ukraine. After what the Russian and Crimean governments claimed were also a free and open poll, the results were in. Over 95 percent of the Crimean people, supposedly, voted to join the Russian Federation and secede from Ukraine.
This clearly was not a free and open election for the results are so severely skewed in one direction. It is clear that the results were pre-determined before the election was even held. Russia knew from the get-go that Crimea would be the latest addition to the Russian Federation, for thousands of Russian troops, not wearing any identifiable insignias, have been in the region for weeks — even before the Russian parliament authorized the use of military force in Crimea. This vote was simply done to make what is essentially a military invasion look like a legitimate process of secession of a province from an existing country, and the ultimate annexation by a new one.
Vladimir Putin, the authoritarian President of Russia, is beginning to resemble dictators of Russia’s past, more specifically Joseph Stalin. While clearly not as brutal as the late Russian dictator, Stalin also used this process of making an illegitimate process look the contrary. The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin held elections every few years. However, the results, like that of the election regarding Crimea, were known before the elections were even held. Stalin’s name was also the only name on the ballot. This was done to make Stalin look like the legitimate, de jure leader, when in reality he was simply a brutal de facto dictator.
Another disturbing connection that can be made between the two leaders is the fact that under Stalin’s rule after the Second World War, he assisted in the installation of Pro-Soviet governments, which would come to be called the Eastern Bloc nations. This has been done in Crimea as well, for there is currently a Pro-Russian government in place. The only difference is that in this case Crimea will be absorbed into Russia proper. One cannot help but make the connection between the recent actions of Putin and Stalin for they both have a track record of holding farce elections to establish legitimacy and a tendency to install, and in this case absorb, pro-Russian factions.
What does all this mean for the rest of the Ukraine? Since Crimea is now for all intensive purposes a part of Russia, regardless of whether or not the rest of the world formally recognizes it or not. After the eventual fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was left with large stockpiles of nuclear weapons, which they gave up for assurances from Russia that their sovereignty would be respected.
Russia has obviously violated this sovereignty, and it is the opinion of this contributor that Ukraine will actively seek membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to protect itself from any further incursions by the Russian military, for they simply are not a match against the powerhouse that is the Russian Federation. If they do attain membership, Russia will think twice before conducting such an operation against Ukraine again.
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